Flexible coupling



Nov. 4, 1952 J. w. 'PRINGLE 7 FLEXIBLE COUPLING Filed Dec. 28, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 INVENTOR.

JZ/zrz W Nov. 4, 1952 J,w 'PRINGLE 2,616,273

FLEXIBLE COUPLING Filed Dec. 28, 1946 I 2 swans-4am": 2

Patented Nov. 4, 1952 John -W. Pringle, Northbroogllll, assignor-to Ejverettqi; Stevens,flwoodstock lfln Aeeliseiiqnnecemberizs, 1 6gS ie1iNa71 9 go m v (Cl. 6 1- h m'eni m ates ov in s r en a i'" and -"more pantiouiarly to (devices .for', connectin f twei bstaritiauy a ien dj sha ts disposed end; o

end in'interdiive relationship which allows for," mi r m al me s n a. l ght an gl ri etw eni h xe qfhth'e ha ts- Many couplings have been devisedj heretofore." for! c onnecting shaf ts in driven relationship, the

simplest fo rm'iofwhi'cl i utilizes two members carriedjby the shaftjs with lugs on'the' members alternately interdigifltatedjfwith each otherand separated" by radiating arms of a; molded rubber" pider, hm ghiwhicnfarm the, to que s' e e'e the shafts, is transmittedby theiugs; 1

Buying, rotation of" the shafts; the "centrifugal action upon the 'spide ai ms tj tends to; elongate" em, streWh n T h Jubwr t he xnens jo 'a driye support andfj setting up unexpeted wear spots an i ration o v pu sa on -i f o t ve been v made; to counteract this centrifugation of e arm y itional' emen sr' u h a 1 sure-rings but' none.of thedeyiees utiiize the cena ri uea tiq i o, n'ad n a ei n f he b e t het'i r sen nv n i n s" i i pup rran n i f hef l' ss e rib finr hi ni he" ent i ueai i q qn p n he, tesi ientf n sie ZmsJ end QT ER SET hQ drivingjn ssi te nw hei fi c iy i a i'a i' ever ef oi tb w entheq siiat nt gs liic etico m pressivel'y"upon'the arms;

A fu r: tu of he", n ent ve? e i e gm he cbnst upt n': nd: el o hi f he. Part whereby'at norma-l loa-dsand; running speeds the centrifugai-efiort upon the'atms Subjctto com 7 pression= bpposes very 1 substantially thecomp i es siv'e eiiort of the-torque transmitted; and i does so without' appreoiably displacing-"the centeroi the-arm mass which z is subj ected to the two; 011- posing forcesg: even though; the efieetiVe-leverage eflontxisiinoreaseda Anothervobj ect: of the invention. is-aato providea icouplingirwhich does-s not appreciably-expand: thelug supporting membersawayzfrom each-:othen ean; axial:- dir ction. :1; .in .aa ireptiqnzexertzu maendthrustmmnath shaf s i i i ii ntis o pmvid a adlihe-a iq or the rm- A further". obj ect, of, the invention is, found in thevdegree oi eoncavityiof and theangle at whieh e lu a es n aein f he; ni er:- rm e d s: posed.

T e. nv nt n; w tnwi pcrease Q I'QQYQWEiQ ML e herapien z ei m a wider he. a m n a in meet f: he; iesar' ii'riceii improved results ove large; couplings employing 1 e gternal bands to-keeprth'e spider arm mass from being squeeeed itaciial-iy outwardly under the foi' oes;oifcpnipression andcentrifugation;

fp thei object name intention is toprovide anj nprovedspidei' form in which the arms there ofare ui ged tofwedge; an'di hold themselves in solid engagenient betweendi'iving lugs-to decreasefriction between the faces" and. 'to pick up and cai ry the torque load imposed. Withoutappreei able shifting hetween the lugs.

e-eompanion object to the-preceding objeet is to utilize thec entrifugai wedging 'actiontomaimtain an appreciably snug contact between a-spide'r anir'and the tra iiing faees of thefdriving lugs so that 'pulsation between; theshaftsnormally expe ieneed; with 'conven tional couplings due to gaps is gr'eatl y; reduced-,- in -fact isvirtuallylim eted;

Anothe pbje ctofthe-invention is the provi sion ofa lug fo rm on' the couplingmemb'ers which may'be-cut-on aiathebY-a circular end cutter developing a su 'faceof revolution 'whose radius is a pproximately double the diameter oi the couplingfmembe 'fo preferablt whose center isnear the oi cumferenee-of the coupling- --memher.

acoupling which is quickly: and simply made and; easytoinstaH}inspect and-service;

'ljhese" being amongthe objects of the invention, other and furthenobjeots will appear from; a study of the drawings, the desc 'iption relatingtheretoland-theappended-claims;-

Several einloodirfients -v of the invention i are shown-inthetwo-sheets of clrawings wherein:

Fig. 1is a si'qe elevation-of one form of the invention as installed-readyfor use to; interdi'ive' Fig; 4;is-a-sectiontal lenon line i-l-of Fig. 2; illustrating a; modification Whichmaybe incorporated im-theembodirnent shown' in Fig; 1-. a

Fig. 5 1s an exploded perspective view o'fthecou plin'g withjhe parts iii spa'eed relationship in their oro'iergof v assembly when. the twog coupiingmembers are to be=brought axially together: in I drive relationship.

Fig. 6 is-a,side;e1eyation of a preferred-form of the inventionias installedieady' for use to interdr-ive-two shafts Fig-"Tis a seetiqn-talgen on- 1i-ne..1-1 of-Fig 6.

Figra isia seotiontaken on line 8-'8 of-'Fig. 6:

Fig. 9 is a section taken on=-1ine- 9 9 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 10 is an exploded view similar to Fig. of the working parts shown in Fig. 6.

In the present invention a single resilient spider is employed whose radiating arms, preferably six in number, are shaped convexly on opposite faces to be received and cradled between correspondingly shaped opposing faces of cooperating lugs carried by two identical members for interdriving two shafts. Ihe faces are semicylindrical in contour and the opposite faces on each arm are disposed to converge at a point outside the periphery of the coupling so that the faces of the lugs mating therewith operate to cradle the body mass of the spider arms under torque transmitting compression in a way whereby centrifugal displacement action at expected speeds counteracts compressive displacement action under expected loads. Due to the two possible shape shown and described this is accomplished without cutting the spider at the inner corners of the arm and without permitting radial bodily displacement of the arms near their outer corners.

The lug faces on each member are cut in pairs by a circular tool with the result that each pair of faces are part of the same cylindrical contour. In one embodiment the cylindrical contour includes remote faces on two adjacent lugs while in another embodiment, the preferred one, the cylindrical contour includes two adjacent faces of adjacent lugs.

More particularly, the shaft coupling comprises a spider 9 and a pair of identical coupling members it and Ida made preferably of metal castings. Each member has a hub ll bored as at I2 to receive substantially aligned shafts I3 to which they can be locked by setscrews [4 with or without cooperating keyways. A radial flange I5, preferably formed integrally with each of the hubs, is provided upon its front face l6 with lugs l1, l8 and I9 numbered sequentially for a better understanding of the invention as hereinafter described. These lugs are generally triangular in sectional contour, defining concave sides 28 of equal length and area and a convex side 2| coincident with the circumference of the flange I 5.

Considering the elements as rotating in the direction of the arrows 22, the leading face 20a: of lug I9 and the trailing face 26y of lug I! lie in the same surface of revolution 23 for convenience in machining. The radius of that surface of revolution is approximately twice the diameter of the flange l5. 7

This is true of all the other faces in like spaced relation and the radius of surface of revolution determined upon is such that the faces incline at the correct angle for a coupling expected to carry a certain speed and load. This radius is increased slightly for low speed high torque applications and decreased slightly for high speed and low torque applications. Equivalent efiects within certain limits can also be obtained by standardizing upon a particular radius and varying the diameter of the flange, provided of course that the driving area of the lugs is not reduced below the minimum required to preserve the resiliency of the spider above the point of breaking down the body structure of the spider at an expected load.

Where the faces 29 meet the end faces [6 of the flange l5, they are preferably grooved with a rounded contour as indicated at 25 to provide a surface for squarely engaging the faces on the arms of the spider over their fully exposed expanse to eliminate any possible axial end thrust developing at the corners.

The spider 9 comprises a single resilient cushion member for transmitting power between the two members it and la by means of six integral identical arms 27 which dovetail with and fit snugly between alternating lugs I'i, Ila, [8, [9a, l9 and 18a (Fig. 2) of the coupling members. The coupling members I0 and Ilia are locked by the setscrews on the shafts with sufficient space between the end faces of the spider and the opposing faces of the members that they, when tested while stationary, will barely contact in an axial direction under application of the maximum rated torque load for the system.

As part of this test condition and by way of explaining the preferred structural characteristics of the spider for the conditions noted, the spider is made of a molded elastomer preferably having a Durometer A hardness of '75 to as an index of its modulus of elasticity. The construction and arrangement of bearing faces and body masses is shown in scale for a coupling having a working diameter of from 2 to 3 inches to be operated at motor speeds of approximately 1750 R. P. M.

Three alternate spider arms 21 of the six provided bear the principal torque load while the other three arms run idle of the principal torque load. However, these three idle arms operate to absorb backlash and pulsation present in the interdrive. In operation, the three idle spider arms are mainly subjected to the influence of centrifugal force under which they tend to move outwardly appreciably to occupy any expansion occurring in the spaces or pockets in which they are disposed which results from effective load compression of the three working arms in which their pockets are correspondingly reduced.

Although the improved operation and longer life of couplings constructed according to applicants invention cannot be fully explained it would appear that these two forces of centrifugation and compression, both of which are objectionable in conventional couplings are utilized beneficially by the invention in that they are so handled that they oppose or cancel out each other and do so in a way improving the drive. This is important because couplings of the class described have come to be relied upon for cushioning pulsating loads as well as accommodating minor misalignments of the shafting.

The centrifugal action bolsters the loaded spider arms against the compressive eifect of the torque action. As centrifugal force tends to move the body mass of these arms outwardly, there results a wedging or counter-compressive action opposing the compressive action of the torque drive. This wedgmg action not only tightens the shafts against pulsations developing at the coupling but even upon the idle arms operates to steady the elements agamst a hammering of the working arms under a pulsating load. Dampenmg of this hammering enect upon the load carrying arms reduces their internal heat and surface friction and materially increases the life of the coupling. Not only this but the effective modulus of elasticity is decreased with increased speeds in a direction favorable to the expected Working conditions since there is less pulsation and torque experienced at higher speeds than encountered at low shaft speeds. The decreased effective elasticity more nearly rigidifies the interorive at high speeos becaus both the idle and the working arms are involvedin a greater Wedging action and tend to oppose each acrea e:

it, the peripheral edges. of the faces. contacting the arms being directed convergingly. towards. each other at an external point in radial line which passes through the center of thearmmass; This arrangement helps the. correspondingly shaped arm masses to .carry the load without" a.

shearing action that is generally experienced: in. conventional couplings.

In Figs. 6 to a preferred form ofainvention is shown in-which the curves of thefacesare portions of more sharply curved cylindrical surfaces 36 whose axes- 35- are located: proximate. to or within the circumference 32 of the coupling all theotherfeatures alreadydescribed being:

substantially the same, like numbers withprimecharacters added referringto like parts-throughout the views. The preferred form has an augmented huddling action very desirable where overloads are expected or experienced.

It has been proposed heretofore in the; arttolocate rubber balls between opposing-cup-shaped' surfaces, but in those instances the theoretical point contact between the-ball surfaceand theassociated surfaces merely flattens the ball and thereby concentrates the resulting hysteresis to the sides of the ball withmanyunwelcome difficulties arising such as splitting the wallofthe ball and-accelerating its breakdown; In theembodiment under consideration all the advantagesdescribed in connection with the other embodiment of the invention have been preserved and none of the difliculties experienced" with rubber balls has been incurred.

The snug mating curved faces which converge inwardly and outwardly for the arms 21 of the spiders 9 operate to augment thehuddling action of the opposing working faces 20' over that of faces 28 under heavy compresssion. The outer portions of the faces 2!! huddle the-body-mass of the arms 21 inwardlyunder compression to oppose and be assisted by counter-centrifugal ac-.. tion due to speed to provide the drive leverage inthe system. This is of particular significance. dueto trends in coupling usagesinthe direction of higher speeds and possibly heavier torque loads.

Under such circumstances, although the huddling action is more pronounced with the spider 9 than with the spider 9 because of the steeper inclination of face convergence increasing opposition to centrifugation of the arms, the drive leverage action is more favorable with the spider 9 as will be more particularly described a little later. In both embodiments, however, the incline of convergence is such that the effective center of resiliency of the body mass of the arms 21 is as far as possible from the axis of coupling rotation without being lost to the compressive huddling action under centrifugal forces. This center would normally be in the center of the arm mass and moves outwardly from an effect viewpoint to the plane where the radii of the two faces on each arm coincide, which point is still safely within the convergence huddle.

This huddling action is brought to its fullest effect without placing any axial end thrust upon bearings. (notshown); hwiwdoad werbe. imposedupon the. two; lug nd Fig. 9, the initial compression we is d b a without contacting: both surfaceslfigteeligrt en thrust. This compressive. displacement: of: the. body mass: of the .threeloaded; arms; wou1d-. pe L m-it: the. outer converging faces, of cooperating; lugs as shown in. Fig. 7 to ..approachreachpthen and reduce. their peripheral:v spacingtotcrowd. thabody. mass radially inwardly; as. we1l-'as.;.axiali the two. actions. taking, place. simultaneously,;;sQ.=. that the effective drive radiusor the. couplingjbem comes a counterpart of the huddling-action; as

related to. the. effective. center of the .arnnmass. underthe influence of load: compressionandi. speed centrifugation.

Before. discussing:v the. effective, drive. radius. leverage of the coupling it shouldbenotedcthat'g the location of the axis of thecylindricalasurfaces 20' theoretically with respecttotherperiphicry of the; coupling also determines how much-- huddling is effected. The further inside the peripherythis axis is located, the r greater the huddling action upon the arm mass and. the shorter the effective driving radius. By-locating the axis nearorat the periphery; the. closer. it isto the effective drive-radiusorthe system-when. centrifugal force is acting upon the; system. Thus if heavy loads at low" speeds are expected; theaxis 3| can b .v located at the peripherywfi the coupling.- The optimum is shown; the, drawings in proportion to atwo-inch 7 coupling.

The effective point=-of leveragedrive. or drive.- radius has been mentioned. Underrestingwon. ditions this point can only be the average; center of all forces and counter-forces present-in the. system of resilient mass, faceangles; compression and centrifugal force, It, however shifts with any changes in any one orall or -thesefactors and shifts radially undercentrifugalforcechanges. With increase in speed the shift-is-out Wardly because the tendency ofthe-body mass-is; to shift outwardly against the counteraction of-= the huddling efiect of cooperating faces. In: creased speeds tend to renderthe outerend of; the spider arm more dense; and rigid thanbeforeand thereby'effectsa substantial displacementoutwardly of the point of effective drive leverage. between the lugs and spider arms. There is little or no danger of damage to the spider'with thisshift because the huddling action blocks any ex cessive bodily movement of the arm mass;

Because of this favorableshift point ofdriye; leverage undercentrifugal action, a coupling designed to carry overloads can withstand high speeds and couplings designed for high speeds can withstand overloads. In view of this, the invention is very flexible to its environment in operation and is usable where load is high and space for a coupling is limited, it being presumed that it is a recognized fact in the industry that the greater the driving radius the easier is the load at that point if the torque on the shaft is constant.

The relative shift of the point of drive leverage can also be provided for in the elasticity of the spider since the shift would be greater for more elastic elastomer than it is for harder elastomers. Between elasticity of the spider and the location of the axis 3 I, it being deeper for softer materials than for hard materials, it is possible to stock rough castings and machine them specially for each application, considering the spider material to be used, merely by changing the cutter the shafts which would cause wear on shaft limits. On the other hand, standard shapes of 7. spiders as shown can be used because the cor-. responding difference in shape of spider for such changes in lug form is slight.

In this connection, the circles 23 and 30 illustrated can be taken as the cutting perimeter of rotarycutting tools which with the embodiment.

shown in Fig. 1 can be fed axially into the coupling member, or, in Fig. 6, it can be fed either axially or radially. If radially, the corner grooves 25 are omitted. However, the face of each couplingmember can be out clean in either form if desired in the one cut. V

The center portion of the spider serves either as :a gauge for checking the end spacing between the shafts as assisted by a ring 40 embedded in the center of spider 9 or by a spider recessed as at M. as shown in spider 9a (Fig. 8) if extra clearance is desired.

Having thus described the invention it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is commensurate with the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination in a coupling of the class described of a pair of coupling members having circumferentially spaced lugs extending axially from their adjacent end faces into alternatively overlapping relationship with one another and an interdrivin spider interposed between said faces andhaving radiating arm disposed between and in mating contact with opposing faces of adjacent lugs, said opposing faces converging outwardly and defining cylindrical surfaces, the adjacent faces of adjacent lugs on each member being a portion of the same cylindrical surface of revolution.

.2. A power transmitting coupling spider of the class described made of an elastorner and having six radiating arms, the opposite Working faces of adjacent arms defining a single surface of revolution. v

3. A power transmitting coupling spider of the class described made of an elastomer and having six radiating arms, the opposite working faces of adjacent arms defining a surface of revolution whose center is outside of and between such adjacent arms and is proximate to the perimeter of the spider.

4. A power transmitting coupling spider of the class described made of an elastomer and having a plurality of radiating arms whose perimeter defines a closed regular surface with the center thereof approximately coincident with the axis of rotation of the spider, each of the working faces of each arm being convex and defining a portion of a cylindricalsurface in common with a cylindrical surface defined by one of the working faces of one of the other arms, there being as many cylindrical surfaces defined as there are arms, and said cylindrical surfaces intersecting one with another, the outermost lines of intersection being disposed outside of said perimeter defining a closed regular surface.

5. The combination in a coupling of the class described of a pair of coupling members having circumferentially spaced lugs extending axially from their adjacent end faces into alternatively overlapping relationship with one another and an interdriving spider made of an elastomer interposed between said faces and having radiating arms disposed between and in mating contact with opposing faces of adjacent lugs said opposing faces converging outwardly and defining surfaces of revolution, each surface of revolution including concave remote faces of adjacent lugs on each member.

6. A coupling member of the class described adapted to be secured to a shaft in rotary drive relationship and including circumferentially spaced lugs extending axially from an end face thereof, said lugs having concave faces forming portions of surfaces of revolution, the adjacent faces of adjacent lugs being a portion of the same surface of revolution.

7. A coupling member of the class described adapted to be secured to a shaft in rotary drive relationship and including circumferentially spaced lugs extending axially from an end face thereof, each of said lugs having generally radially disposed concave faces which diverge outwardly and inwardly along surfaces of revolu tion each surface of revolution including remote faces of adjacent lugs.

JOHN W. PRINGLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,791,763 Peters Feb. 10, 1931 2,022,626 Weis Nov. 26, 1935 2,135,634 Byrom Nov. 8, 1938 2,301,660 Ricefield Nov. 10, 1942 

